The Black holefollowthebirdOctober 2 2010, 16:20:08 UTC
I would argue that the only way for Mr McNamara and others like him to pay off their loans would be to obtain employment. And part of the reason that there are very few jobs out there is that there is very little left over to spend on job creation after bailing out banks.
It's a downward spiral and this man is as trapped by the problem as much as any one else. I haven't seen him claim that he has had no part in the problem. We all have a constitutional right to protest. So does he. The statements on his vehicle are not personal regardless of his background.
He invested in a property in Galway (22 apartments). He had planning permission turned down in Waterford and has also been involved in a number of business projects in Achill in recent years, including proposals for developing a major wind-farm.
From what I have read from the articles above the worst you could accuse Mr McNamara of is being ambitious and naive. I am guessing he was a builder that branched into the developing business during the middle of the boom. He was unlucky enough to suffer ill health in 2007 and possibly had his eye off the ball while he took part in the Niall Mellon Township house-building project in South Africa in 2006. http://thestory.ie/2010/08/01/all-is-not-well-in-galway-city-council/
Sounds like the kind of ethical development that should have been in place since the 80's (I come from an area that suffered from the fallout of bad planning in to 80's that left thousands of people in the outskirts of Dublin without vital services and no bus service).
I can't find anything to do with NcNamara on the final link.
His story does illustrate why we are not out protesting. Why would we if we are just going to be charged and fined and have the foolish things we did during the boom dragged out in front of the public for all to see?
My husband bought shares in the company he worked for. They are worth nothing now and he is still paying the money off. But, if the budget is cut further we won't be able to pay. Does that mean he has no right to protest about the way the government handled the bank crisis?
We have no house and are unlikely to ever own a house even though I spent years trying to save for a deposit. If we did have jobs we could buy one of those empty houses that Ireland have so many of. But my health is poor and my husband has had no luck finding a job for over a year. It's all a downward spiral into a black hole and I am glad someone did something spectacular about it even if he isn't perfect and God knows normal protesting definitely hasn’t worked so far.
Re: The Black holemollydotOctober 10 2010, 14:38:46 UTC
Sorry for the slow reply.
That's the real problem. He, and the other developers, can't pay off their loans. It's just not possible. But the bank can't just throw its hands in the air and call them off.
I wonder what his reaction would have been if the bank had been more sensible (a *lot* more sensible) and farseeing and not extended the loan(s) in the first place.
I haven't seen him claim that he has no part in the problem, nor have I seen him saying he has. Developers were left off his list of traitors on the cherry picker. And what his lawyer says he was protesting is "his unfair treatment at the hands of the banks", not the state the country has got into.
He had a couple of planning permission applications rejected. But the way I see it, he's lucky they were. If they'd been accepted, he would have invested more money into developing the sites and owe more than €3.5 million. All conjecture, of course. I don't know what would have happened. Either does he.
The final link has: Ref No: PD/DP.11/76 Name: Joseph McNamara C/O Patrick McGinty Address: Tyrgo Consulting Eng. Ltd., Unit B, 11/13 Sundrive Rd., Kimmage, Dublin 12 Issue(s): Rezoning
Don't know what it means, or even if it's the same Joseph McNamara, but it looks like someone wants an area rezoned to build something.
You could be right about him being a builder who turned developer at the wrong time. I don't know anything about him pre-2006, though my guess is that he was a partner in Harmack.
I think what our difference in opinion comes down to though is that you think he's angry at the situation the country is in, whereas I think he's angry about his own situation, blaming anyone but himself for it, and expressing that in a more general way. I think he'd give up the protests if he won the euromillions.
It's a downward spiral and this man is as trapped by the problem as much as any one else. I haven't seen him claim that he has had no part in the problem. We all have a constitutional right to protest. So does he. The statements on his vehicle are not personal regardless of his background.
He invested in a property in Galway (22 apartments). He had planning permission turned down in Waterford and has also been involved in a number of business projects in Achill in recent years, including proposals for developing a major wind-farm.
From what I have read from the articles above the worst you could accuse Mr McNamara of is being ambitious and naive. I am guessing he was a builder that branched into the developing business during the middle of the boom. He was unlucky enough to suffer ill health in 2007 and possibly had his eye off the ball while he took part in the Niall Mellon Township house-building project in South Africa in 2006. http://thestory.ie/2010/08/01/all-is-not-well-in-galway-city-council/
The 409 home project that was refused was "part of an ‘integrated communities’ plan where educational, social, youth, retail and cultural facilities are provided in parallel with housing developments." http://www.munster-express.ie/local-news/further-409-homes-being-proposed-for-gracedieu/"
Sounds like the kind of ethical development that should have been in place since the 80's (I come from an area that suffered from the fallout of bad planning in to 80's that left thousands of people in the outskirts of Dublin without vital services and no bus service).
I can't find anything to do with NcNamara on the final link.
His story does illustrate why we are not out protesting. Why would we if we are just going to be charged and fined and have the foolish things we did during the boom dragged out in front of the public for all to see?
My husband bought shares in the company he worked for. They are worth nothing now and he is still paying the money off. But, if the budget is cut further we won't be able to pay. Does that mean he has no right to protest about the way the government handled the bank crisis?
We have no house and are unlikely to ever own a house even though I spent years trying to save for a deposit. If we did have jobs we could buy one of those empty houses that Ireland have so many of. But my health is poor and my husband has had no luck finding a job for over a year. It's all a downward spiral into a black hole and I am glad someone did something spectacular about it even if he isn't perfect and God knows normal protesting definitely hasn’t worked so far.
Reply
That's the real problem. He, and the other developers, can't pay off their loans. It's just not possible. But the bank can't just throw its hands in the air and call them off.
I wonder what his reaction would have been if the bank had been more sensible (a *lot* more sensible) and farseeing and not extended the loan(s) in the first place.
I haven't seen him claim that he has no part in the problem, nor have I seen him saying he has. Developers were left off his list of traitors on the cherry picker. And what his lawyer says he was protesting is "his unfair treatment at the hands of the banks", not the state the country has got into.
He had a couple of planning permission applications rejected. But the way I see it, he's lucky they were. If they'd been accepted, he would have invested more money into developing the sites and owe more than €3.5 million. All conjecture, of course. I don't know what would have happened. Either does he.
The final link has:
Ref No: PD/DP.11/76
Name: Joseph McNamara
C/O Patrick McGinty
Address: Tyrgo Consulting Eng. Ltd.,
Unit B, 11/13 Sundrive Rd.,
Kimmage, Dublin 12
Issue(s): Rezoning
Don't know what it means, or even if it's the same Joseph McNamara, but it looks like someone wants an area rezoned to build something.
You could be right about him being a builder who turned developer at the wrong time. I don't know anything about him pre-2006, though my guess is that he was a partner in Harmack.
I think what our difference in opinion comes down to though is that you think he's angry at the situation the country is in, whereas I think he's angry about his own situation, blaming anyone but himself for it, and expressing that in a more general way. I think he'd give up the protests if he won the euromillions.
I do feel sorry for him. But I don't salute him.
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